Opening of the Combrand biomethane injection site

Today, Alain Caillaud, President of Gazteam Énergie, and his team opened the anaerobic digestion unit in Combrand (Deux-Sèvres). Representatives of the Regional Council, the French Environment and Energy Management Agency (ADEME), local economic stakeholders and all their partners were in attendance¹.

The Combrand site is the first biomethane injection site on the GRTgaz transmission network in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. The unit will recover approximately 45,000 tonnes of inputs per year, supporting the circular economy.

This operation is the result of seven years’ work between seven partners from three farms (cattle and grain). This partnership gave rise to Gazteam Énergie, a company created in February 2014 with the main aim of contributing to the energy transition by recovering livestock effluent. Today, Gazteam Énergie works with 24 farms representing around 30 farmers. The unit aims to produce 2.5 million m3 of biomethane equating to 30 GWh/year. In practical terms, this is equivalent to the energy consumed by 2,500 households² / 5,750 inhabitants or 133 buses³.

The biomethane site stands out for its new expertise: dry anaerobic digestion. This technique involves mixing agricultural waste with a dry material, then leaving it to ferment for 20 days in three horizontal digesters in order to release biogas (renewable gas). This biogas is then purified to become biomethane, before being injected directly into the GRTgaz transmission network. The project was developed with the expertise of Astrade, which acted as assistant to the project owner.

The anaerobic digestion unit is supplied only with natural agricultural resources, most of which come from neighbouring farms. In total, nearly 45,000 tonnes of livestock effluent, harvested cover crops, straw and chaff will be recovered. Digestate, a natural fertiliser collected after the anaerobic digestion process, is used on the land of partner farmers.

There is strong regional interest in this continuous, easily storable renewable energy, which provides practical solutions in terms of support for agriculture, the circular economy and waste processing, land planning and the creation of local jobs.

At the national level, 88 facilities inject biomethane into the gas networks, and 760 projects are currently being studied (source: GRTgaz biomethane dashboard - April 2019).

The Combrand site represents a total investment of €14.5 million. It has received financial support from the European Union via the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) for €2.5 million, from ADEME for €1.7 million, and from the Loire Bretagne Water Agency (AELB) for €258,000. The Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region responded very early to Gazteam’s request to launch the feasibility study, which brought all project stakeholders around the table.

The three founding structures of GAZTEAM Énergie own 80% of the capital. GAZTEAM Énergie’s financial partners share 20% of the capital:

• CAP VERT ENERGIE: a committed producer and supplier of renewable energies. The company is developing a biogas market strategy focused on anaerobic digestion units dedicated to the recovery of organic waste in the region. It enables regions and industrial players to produce local and sustainable energy by recovering their organic waste in a way that aligns with the principles of the circular economy.
• TERRA ENERGIES: a regional investment fund supporting the development of renewable energies in Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Terra Energies is made up of public and private stakeholders. It is an original driver supporting regional players who are committed to the energy transition.

The unit’s banking partners are Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (CDC), Caisse d’Épargne and Crédit Mutuel Océan, federated by Banque Populaire syndication.

¹ The following will be present: Anne-Marie Reveau - Mayor of Combrand; Christiane Lambert - President of FNSEA; Pierre Cotin - GRTgaz Sales Director; Anthony Mazzenga - GRTgaz Renewable Gas Director; Mathieu Anglade - Deputy CEO of ADEME Nouvelle Aquitaine; Nathalie Lanzi - Vice-President of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region; Philippe Mouiller - Senator for Deux-Sèvres; Isabelle David - Prefect for Deux-Sèvres.

² For houses: 12,000 KWh / year / household.

³ For buses: 225,000 KWh / year / bus.